"Neko ga Nezumi o Oikakeru Wake" is one of Japanese folk tales. Click this link to read a story with the illustrations. You can also learn vocabulary for animals at my Audio Phrase Book. Click this link to learn more about Japanese zodiac. It is the Year of the Sheep in 2015!

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Romaji Translation

Mukashi mukashi, ningen mo umareteinai, oomukashi no aru toshi no kure desu.

Kamisama ga doubutsutachi ni iimashita.
"Mousugu shougatsu da.Gantan niwa, minna watashi no tokoro ni kinasai.
Soshite, saki ni kita mono kara juuni-ban me made o, sono toshi no taishou to shiyou."
Tokoroga, ukkarimono no neko wa atsumaru hi o wasureta node, tomodachi no nezumi ni kikimashita.
Suruto nezumi wa, "Aa, shinnen no futsuka da yo" to, wazato uso o oshiemashita.

Sate, ganta ni narimashita.
Ushi wa ashi ga osoi node, asa hayakuni ie o demashita. Chakkari mono no nezumi wa, kossori ushi no senaka ni notte kamisama no mae ni kuru to, pyon to tobiorite ichiban saishoni kamisama no mae ni ikimashita.

Sorede nezumi ga saisho no toshi no taishou ni nari, ushi ga nibanme ni narimashita. Sonogo, tora, usagi, tatsu, hebi, uma, hitsuji, saru, niwatori, inu, inoshishi no jun ni narimashita.

Tokoroga neko wa, nezumi ni oshierareta toori futsuka ni kamisama no tokoro e ikimashita. Suruto kamisama wa, "Osokatta ne. Zannen dakedo, kinou kimatta yo" to, iu dewa arimasen ka. Kuyashii no nan no. "Nezumi ne, yokumo damashita na!"

Okotta neko wa, sorekara zutto, nezumi o miru to oikakeru youni narimashita.

Vocabulary

neko ? --- a cat
nezumi ??? --- a mouse
oikakeru ????? --- to chase
wake ?? --- a reason
mukashi mukashi ?? --- Once upon a time
ningen ?? --- a human being
umareru ???? --- to be born
oomukashi ?? --- ancient times
toshi no kure ???? --- the end of the year
kamisama ?? -- a god
doubutsu ?? --- an animal
iu ?? --- to say
mousugu ???? --- soon
shougatsu ?? --- the New Year
gantan ?? --- New Year's Day
minna ??? --- everybody
watashi ? --- I
saki ? --- before
kita ?? --- a past tense of the verb "kuru (to come)"
toshi ? --- a year
taishou ?? --- a chief; a head
tokoroga ???? --- However
ukkarimono ?????? --- a careless person
atsumaru ??? --- to gather
wasureta ??? --- a past tense of the verb "wasureru (to forget)"
tomodachi ?? --- a friend
kiku ?? --- to listen
shinnen ?? --- the New Year;
futsuka ?? --- the second day
wazato ??? --- on purpose
uso ?? --- a lie
oshieru ??? --- to tell
ushi ? --- a cow
ashi ga osoi ???? --- walk slowly
asa ? --- morning
hayaku ?? --- early
ie ? --- home
chakkari mono ?????? --- a smart person
kossori ???? --- secretly
senaka ?? --- back
notte ??? --- the te-form of the verb "noru (to ride)"
pyon ??? --- hop
tobioriru ???? --- to jump onto
ichiban ?? --- the first
saisho ?? --- the first
sonogo ??? --- after that
tora ?? --- a tiger
usagi ??? --- a rabbit
tatsu ?? --- a dragon
hebi ? --- a snake
uma ? --- a horse
hitsuji ? --- a sheep
saru ? --- a monkey
niwatori ? --- a rooster
inu ? --- a dog
inoshishi ???? --- a wild boar
jun ? --- an order
osokatta ???? --- a past tense of the adjective "osoi (to be late)"
zannen ?? --- disappointing
kinou ?? --- yesterday
kuyashii ???? --- mortifying
damashita ???? ---a past tense of the verb "damasu (to cheat)"
okotta ??? --- a past tense of the verb "okoru (to be angry)"
zutto ??? --- all the time